Wednesday, April 30, 2014

This is a double jackpot in a pattern envelope: "Scraps from the Past" and a clipping that was "In Search of Style". :D

The Clipping: Found in the pattern was this 1963 clipping for (remarkably) another pattern! The mail order pattern illustrates a lovely full-skirted dress with a snug bodice, short French sleeves, drop-waist points, and a portrait collar.

The Simplicity pattern is very close to the mail order pattern and a wonderful match. It has a snug bodice with extended points, drop waist, full skirt (in this case with soft box pleats), portrait collar (in this case with a notch in front and a pert fixed bow accent), and short French sleeves.

The Scrap: Based on the beautiful blue color of this scrap that was tucked in the envelope, I would venture to say that the sewer was inspired by the color of the illustration on the pattern. The fabric is a soft, winter-weight interlock jersey in a vivid blue color. It's easy to picture!

Tuesday, April 29, 2014

Starting with a "straight dress pattern", Ruth Wyeth Spears walks you through easy steps to turn your simple house dress into a fashionable, flattering afternoon frock. She adds a bit of skirt fullness at the sides, cascading drapes, trailing fabric ribbons, and long sleeves. Just like that, an every-day frock is turned into a lovely one!

Note the fabric-covered buttons at the shoulders. Enjoy! And don't forget to click or tap the image to enlarge it for easier reading.

Sunday, April 27, 2014

In this fine tip from Ruth Wyeth Spears, a template and instructions allow you to create a fine fabric rose (taffeta and silk are the recommended fabrics) to accent a hat or frock. Note that it is a "flat" rose, perfect for attaching to a garment. Once you've mastered the technique, don't stop at one!

Don't forget to click or tap the image in order to enlarge it for easier reading (and from which to print the template).

Thursday, April 24, 2014

The first Saturday of May is coming up soon and it's the official First Day of Boating. Port cities (like Seattle) usually have a parade of boats all tricked out with banners and pennants to celebrate the occasion. In honor of this annual event, I am beginning to post nautical-styled patterns in my shop. Here are just a few patterns for ladies and children, from the 1940s to the 1970s, to pique your interest:

Thursday, April 17, 2014

Accented box pleats are the focus of this excellent tip from Ruth Wyeth Spears and the 1920s. She provides two ideas - top-stitched box pleats with extended points (a very handsome treatment, I think), and pairs of box pleats trimmed with braid (note the use of a low-hung belt over the pleats -a nice extra touch!).

Sunday, April 13, 2014

When it comes to stripes, Ruth advises you to not be thrifty or skimpy with your fabric. Extra fabric is needed to align the stripes with symmetry. Ruth illustrates the resulting pleasing alignment when pattern pieces are laid out optimally, as well as the poor outcome when stripes are not aligned.

You may have noticed that Ruth uses the term "wash dress", a term from 1920s which I believe means a day dress that could be washed with the bulk of the weekly wash without needing any special care. I could be wrong, though. If anyone knows otherwise, let me know!

Friday, April 11, 2014

I love crisp pleats, so this tip from Ruth Wyeth Spears for home sewers in the 1920s is especially fun. Ruth describes how to add interest to a plain frock by adding groups of sharp knife pleats. She illustrates knife pleats in an "apron tunic" on the left and in the "flounces" that trim the frock on the right . Her directions are spot on, so let Ruth be your guide as you sew and let her drawings inspire you as you design your frock with pleats!

Sunday, April 6, 2014

In this tip for home sewers, Ruth Wyeth Spears notes the "new" trend of top-stitching, and how this machine stitching adds a smart, tailored look to a frock. As always, Ruth's very clear illustrations and instructions let you learn this skill easily. Choose narrow or wide spacing for your rows of top-stitching, and you'll add a crisp finish to your frocks!

Saturday, April 5, 2014

Seen in the shop window of Anthropologie in downtown Seattle, this gorgeous tropical print blouse sports a flared peplum that dips low in the back. Simply superb.

In the shop window of Mario's in downtown Seattle, my eye was drawn to this divine little cardigan with the look of crochet, trimmed with a softly pleated peplum. Note the 3/4-length sleeves, and the scalloped edging. I just love all the details - want, want!

Friday, April 4, 2014

The Trinity Fashion Society (of Trinity College Dublin, Ireland) hosted its annual catwalk event on March 19. One of the organizers was a good friend of the sister of Mark McNulty, who is a customer of my Etsy shop. This organizer offered Mark a chance to make some things for the show. So he purchased several patterns from my shop and modified them for the show. Here is his story. To read more about the fashion show (which mentions "design prodigy Mark McNulty who is a secondary school student" - wow!!), check out this University Times story.

Mark says: "I find vintage fashion has always influenced me. For my outfits, I
wanted to have vintage silhouettes but with a twist. I wanted to mix
the classic retro look with 90s grunge, so I went for sophisticated, sexy,
smokey colours.

Pattern: Butterick 7956 (1950s)

The Result: Dreamy strapless evening gown in soft, warm black velvet.

Mark says: "I made the skirt bigger than the pattern and added more fabric to the back to give
it a small train. The black velvet was difficult to sew as it was so so
so stretchy and I used it for a very structured piece. The dress called
for thin sewn-in boning, but I made a built-in corset with steel boning to
really hold it up and hold the wearer in. A self-drafted petticoat
was also made, though I do regret it as I don't particularly like it; but
ah well.

Pattern: Simplicity 2170 (1940s)

The Result: A hot little dress with attitude!

Mark says: "For this green dress, I used the ice skater dress
pattern. I altered it, making it less broad at the shoulders, took in the
sleeves and waist considerably, and then added 2 inches to each gore of the
skirt to give it more volume. I chose a crushed bottle green velvet that
really brought that rocker touch to the dress. The extra fabric on each
gore really added so much oompf to the dress when it was on the catwalk."

Mark says: "I made this black dress for my sister, using the ends of the fabric
from the black formal gown. She wore it to her friend's 21st birthday
the other day. Even in this dress you can see the 90s grunge influence,
with the dark lips and smokey eyes."

Thursday, April 3, 2014

Slot seams are one of those techniques that produce a subtle and tailored effect and yet are rarely used. In this tip from Ruth Wyeth Spears for home dressmakers in the 1920s, slot seams add a tailored, polished look to a two-piece frock. Frocks may emphasize simplicity, but are not plain, as Ruth explains. As usual her excellent description and illustrations will have you using slot seams with ease on your next new frock.

Note that she has sketched a frock of "silk and wool serge in a beautiful warm brown." Can you see the color? :) Same or contrast fabric is perfect for the slot or stay strip. Be sure to click on the image to enlarge it for easier reading.

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The images in this blog are provided for educational purposes. These images are reproduced from my personal collection of vintage patterns, books, booklets and magazines on sewing and fashion. They are in the public domain with expired copyrights. I do not profit from these images. Images also include photographs sent to me by my customers and reprinted with their permission. The text and images are copyrighted by Midvale Cottage with all rights reserved, and may not be sold.